Beyond the Distance

Chapter 8

The station at District 27 with its open ceiling and natural sunlight was a relief after the dark waters that saturated Balinak, and the warmth of the late spring day eased Malick into the afternoon traffic. He pulled the warm air into his lungs and held onto its sweetness for a moment before releasing it, and then he forced the thoughts that often arose during these assignments back into their quiet places. They only interfered with his responsibilities.

He had only been to this side of District 27 a couple times in his life, and both times were to pay Chris a summer visit when he decidedly avoided all debts he owed the Underground dealers—Mishi and her father specifically—who provided him access to the synthetic drugs manufactured within the Underground's black market. From what Malick saw of Mishi's meticulous records, he was one of their most frequent customers in recent months, and his preference had turned to one of the more potent variants of the thetics he had started purchasing a few years earlier when he entered the Academy. Of course, that meant nothing to Mishi emotionally, despite her friendly association with Chris. He was a guaranteed customer from a business perspective—someone Mishi and her father, Har Shantan, were happy to keep in their circle of contacts, someone who could no longer stay away from the temptation he had fed too often.

As Malick walked down the street, he passed the tall, iron fence that encircled the Greens' mansion and stole a few glances into the property: the ceramic fountain in the middle of the patio, the perfectly green grass, and the all-white colonial house. The Greens were the picture of family perfection, at least from the media's portrayal of them, and the story of Allan's late wife's soft spot for an orphaned Lunseran girl made them a target for Underground surveillance. Few people knew the home they lived in—it was perhaps Allan's best-kept secret—and Malick only knew which house it was because his father had forged a personal relationship with Allan and visited the family home on numerous occasions. Malick knew it by his father's description alone, but considering its location and the size of its lot, this house was the only one to match the greatness he had imagined through his father's descriptions. It emanated an energy that drew Malick in, and he suddenly wanted more than anything to be inside those gates. The opportunity to finally meet this family that embodied the opposition of the KUS roused a curiosity within him, a passion that never ignited during assignments as cumbersome as collecting debt from drug addicts.

He turned his sight away and picked up his pace toward Chris's house. The only link Malick had to the Greens today was Chris, who grew up with Allan's son and considered himself to be one of Scott's closest friends—Scott, the nuisance Malick had heard so much about from his father. If everything developed as he and his father had planned, Chris would take him through those gates, and he would require no other explanation for his presence.

As he approached the door to Chris's home, he steeled himself for his reaction. Very rarely was Chris happy to see him anymore. He was prone to drug binges and drunken confessions in their dormitory at the Academy, and he let a few regrettable words slip out in Malick's presence. Malick hid his smile as he raised his knuckles to the door, but it swung open before he could knock upon it, and he was met with Chris's guiltiest expression of shock and irritation. He nudged Malick off the step and shut the front door behind him. "How long have you been standing on my porch?"

There was a wild look in his blue eyes, and the shadowed bags around them emphasized the recovering pallor of his skin. Malick watched him amusedly, noting the sloppy head of blond hair that he hadn't cared to fix before leaving. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Chris tucked a gift bag behind his back. "It's none of your business, really. What are you doing in this neighborhood? You have no reason to be here."

Malick picked at his nails. "I just got done talking to Mishi in Balinak."

His eyes widened. "What does that have to do with standing on my doorstep? You know, what if my parents had opened that door instead of me?"